Iloilo City needs 2 days more to complete SAP release

The city government here will need two more days to complete the distribution of the assistance under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to remaining recipients whose names are already included in the payroll account.

In his regular press conference on Monday, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said a total of 65,330 beneficiaries have been included in the payroll out of the 79,215 target.

Even if the distribution continued even during the weekend, he said 20,678 beneficiaries were not able to receive their subsidy because the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the city’s depository bank, ran out of money.

For the past weekend alone, Treñas said the city government has released around PHP200 million.

The city government needs around PHP124.068 million for the remaining 20,768 beneficiaries.

They can still be accommodated once the city government resumes the distribution on Wednesday or Thursday this week because the Local Finance Committee (LFC) has asked for time to reconcile its figures.

“Once we are okay, we can start releasing Wednesday or Thursday,” he said.

Under the SAP, recipients are entitled to receive PHP6,000 each. Once the release of the subsidy for the remaining beneficiaries with payroll is completed, the city government will be left with more or less PHP80 million from out of the PHP475.29 million allocation under the SAP.

Treñas said barangays will be given the chance to list down those families that have been delisted from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) because they are already qualified to avail of the SAP based on the latest guidelines of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

They will be included in the remaining 13,885 target beneficiaries of the city government. “We hope to do that anytime starting today (May 11) until we have prepared their payroll,” he said.

Meanwhile, 1,000 individuals who are not qualified under the SAP will be accommodated in the assistance coming from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

The city government will also extend financial assistance to members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community as they are also affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

He said that 250 LGBTQ in the city will receive PHP2,000 each from the PHP500,000 fund provided by Antique Rep. Loren Legarda.